Defining Challenges and Opportunities of Intermarriages and Sexual Relations for African Migrants and South Africans in the City of Cape Town, Western Cape

Abstract

This article focuses on the challenges and opportunities regarding marriages and sexual relations between South Africans and African migrants living in the City of Cape Town. In this specific context, the study examines the experiences of African migrants and South Africans of all races and backgrounds. The focus of this study is to explore the challenges and opportunities of marriages and sexual relations between African migrants and South Africans in general. For the theoretical framework, this study relies on contact theory and on intergroup theory. The data analysed is based on interviews from African migrants and South Africans living in the City of Cape Town. The complexity of this phenomenon reflects xenophobia, intolerance and racism as cultural legacy on the one hand, and on the other, multiculturalism and diversity as a new conceptualisation of a globalized world. Both co-exist within the same society. This study found that, while there are challenges to marriages and sexual relations between African migrants and South Africans, there are also opportunities generated for and by these intermarriages and relationships. By focusing on the challenges and opportunities, this study offers insight into the marriages and sexual relations between South Africans and non-South Africans in present-day post-apartheid South Africa.